President of Armenia Armen Sarkissian, who is in the Kingdom of Spain on a working visit, visited yesterday the famous Teide Observatory where he was introduced to the Gran Telescopio Canarias of La Palma, the world’s largest telescope, as well as the activities and the current studies of the observatory that has the world’s third largest solar telescope (GREGOR). Teide Observatory is planning on constructing a new telescope with a nearly 50-meter diameter. This is what the press service of the President of Armenia reported.

President Sarkissian and the administration of Teide Observatory discussed the prospects for cooperation with Armenia. The President emphasized that Armenia, as one of the world’s oldest civilizations, has always been highly focused on the development of science and mentioned the observatory of Metsamor dating back to the era of the Armenian Urartu Kingdom. “I would like to see more Armenians involved in the fields of science and astronomy in the future. The President of Armenia has a new initiative referred to as Advanced Tomorrow (ATOM), and it is targeted at the development of science and technologies in Armenia,” the President said, adding that the program envisages cooperation with the world’s large technology companies such as Dassault Systems, Thales, Leonardo, IBM, etc.

President Sarkissian and Teide Observatory’s administration agreed to sign a memorandum of mutual understanding soon for the enhancement of partnership between Teide Observatory and Armenia’s scientific institutions and technology companies.